CCHF was discovered by Russian scientists in the Crimea in about 1944, and was found in a patient in the Congo in 1956. In 1967, a number of cases were noted, in which the virus was seen to be similar to the 1956 one, and it was established that the Crimean and Congo cases were caused by the same organism.

Handling and study of the virus should only be conducted in a level 4 containment facility - the highest level of hazardous biological containment, used for dealing with highly contagious agents. Protective suits, air-filtration systems etc. are used, in the same way as handling Marburg or Ebola.

1: The article is in the Telegraph, and the huge URL: http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/10/04/wref04.xml&sSheet=/news/2001/10/04/ixhome.html